


Moments in Blue

by Chinohime



Category: Free!
Genre: College, F/M, Older Man/Younger Woman, Post-High School, Students, Swimming, Tokyo (City)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 03:56:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12903471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chinohime/pseuds/Chinohime
Summary: You are a 3rd Year High School Student,living in Tokyo with your mother.Having been separated from your sister,you visit her in Iwatobi during weekends.There,you meet the parents of Tachibana Makoto, and you start to get to know more about the group of four boys that had known each other since long time ago.Set one Year after the anime, where Haru and Makoto are in their first year of college.





	Moments in Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone,this is my first fanfiction! ^_^  
> I‘m not really writing that often and since English isn’t my native language, I hope you can understand why it may lack some... correctness ? XD  
> Anyway,I hope you enjoy reading it!

 

„Hayashi! You’re too slow!“

The manager‘s voice echoed through the entire room.  
As you arose from beneath the water‘s surface you turned around to look at the person that was scolded.  
Hayashi Kiyumi has been a member of the Synchronized Swimming club for around half a year and she didn’t do bad in performances.However, her swimming lacked speed to keep up with her partners which caused a lot of problems sometimes.Even now,she still had problems with it.

  
As you looked at her, she noticed you and smiled apologetic. Her deep brown eyes looked like the ones of a sad puppy asking you for forgiveness. And of course,who could resist that?  
You shook your head and smiled at her,hoping to get your message across.  
‚Don‘t worry.‘

Her face brightened up a little and she gave you a wide smile before diving into the water again on the manager‘s command.  
„This Time,everyone, please perform a little bit slower than usual so Hayashi can swim along.“

Feeling sorry for her,you looked at your partner,seeing that she already dove into the water.She and the four other girls would perform something different than you together in a group. Then, you would dive into the water and join the others,with you being in the center.  
Since you had been swimming for a long time already,you easily got the main role in the performance.  
Waiting for your turn, you watched them calmly but attentive,making sure you don‘t miss out on the timing.  
Just then,the manager spoke up again. This time,he talked to you.

„[ Lastname ] , when you perform your part, you need to pay more attention to your kicks. Your timing and movement is perfect except for that. Did you swim crawl or backstroke before? The leg movements of those two styles are very similar to the ones we used in this performance.“  
You widened your [ Eyecolor ] eyes a little and parted your lips in order to respond to his question.

„Ah...Yes. I will do my best.“ Those few words were all you managed to say though, being neither a super talkative person nor having enough time to think about a proper answer right now. 

You turned around to observe the four other swimmers again and patiently waited until the time came where you had to dive in and join their swimming.  
You glided into the clear blue water as it gently embraced you ,almost as if it was welcoming you in its world.

  
After the training,you quickly took a shower and changed into your casual clothes. Today was Thursday and tomorrow after school, you would get on the train to visit your sister, who lived with her Father in Iwatobi.

The air outside was damp and cold,even though it was already May.  
As you passed a lantern and it shed dimmed light on a small area around you, you saw Kiyumi‘s eyes staring at you from the corner of your eyes.  
Since she got into the club, It was normal for her to walk home with you because she lived near to your apartment.

But this time she was unusually quiet.  
You slightly averted your gaze to look at her,signaling her that you were paying attention.  
„What’s the matter?“ , you asked and took a quick glance at the road to see if someone was coming from the opposite direction.  
The brunette chuckled in a low voice and looked at you as if she had been caught doing something inappropriate.  
She dug her hands deeper into the pockets of her coat and rushed as she noticed you walking a little faster.

„You just seem a little hectic today“ , she said while looking at her feet. „Do you have something to do afterwards?“  
You widened your beautiful [ Eyecolor ] eyes in surprise as she asked you that question. Was it really that obvious? You didn’t think you rushed out of the building or something. Or did you?

„Ah,well...“ , you hesitated a little. Usually, you wouldn’t really talk to people who aren’t very close to you about personal things.  
You quickly glanced at the brown eyed girl and figured it would be okay as long as you didn’t go into detail about it.  
„My parents divorced around 2 years ago“ , you answered and looked away from her, at a tree further down the street.

„I live here in Tokyo with my mom,while my sister lives in Iwatobi.“

You paused a little. Kiyumi used the moment of silence to ask a question, making sure she didn’t interrupt you talking.  
„Iwatobi? Is it a city near Tokyo?“  
You desisted from looking at the tree and instead focused on a cat lying on a wall that separated two premises. Noticing her question,your gaze became blurred.

„Not really“ , you sighed at the answer you gave her. „By Train it takes me around 3 hours to get there at best. It lies near the ocean and I used to live there until I moved here with my mom.“  
The brunette girl looked at you with a caring face,hearing these words. Then she fell silent for a moment before she sheepishly muttered an answer to your words.

„Is that so...so you‘re visiting your sister this weekend?“  
She slowed down a little, noticing that you soon would have to part ways. You adapted yourself to her pace and took out your phone,checking if you still had enough time.  
After you decided you still had a few minutes left, you turned to face her.  
„Yeah,every two weekends. Sometimes more,sometimes less. It depends“ , you responded in a calm voice and looked at the sky, noticing a few drops of rain on your pale skin.

„It’s starting to rain“, Kiyumi said as she noticed you wiping away some rain drops.  
You averted your gaze from the sky to look at her again and nodded slightly.  
„I think I better hurry home before I get wet. I’m Sorry,Kiyumi“  
You smiled apologetic at her and pointed toward the sky. The girl standing next to you nodded sympathetically and raised her hand to wave at you.  
„Then I‘ll see you next Monday“, she said and turned around as she bid you goodbye.

Watching her silhouette fading into the darkness of a small side road to your right, you stood there for a moment.  
You felt the rain glide down from your forehead to your chin,leaving a cold sensation on your wet skin.  
Maybe you shouldn’t have brushed her off like that; you didn’t have a long way left to walk and weren’t short on time either.  
You actually even had an umbrella in your bag,just in case it would be raining. ‚Which it is‘ , you thought and took a step backwards to change your direction to the road that led you home.

Since it wasn’t long to walk, you figured running would be enough to get you home more or less dry. There wouldn’t be a need to take out the umbrella for such a short distance.  
Well,there would have been if you had decided to finish your conversation instead of avoiding it using this rather cheap excuse.

But you weren’t the person to ramble about personal matters to others, and even though Kiyumi seemed like a trusting person, you didn’t quite feel like there was an urge to go on and tell her all about your family. Not yet,at least.  
And with those thoughts you started to quickly move your legs in an attempt to get to the dry and warm apartment as soon as possible.

  
„Ehh, your lunchbox looks really nice today, [ Name ]- san!“ A dyed blonde sitting next to you in school looked at you admiringly. Taking a glance at her table ,you could make out some bread and a few vegetables squeezed into one tiny box. Nothing special. Seems like she wasn’t a fan of making fancy meals.

„Hey,Shiharu,isn’t that right?“, the girl leaned over to a redhead sitting in front of her.  
The girl turned around and first looked at you,and then your lunchbox. You did the same, her burgundy colored locks catching your eye.  
Her box was also only filled with what was needed, and the maker didn’t seem to care about the arrangement. As long as it was edible,it was fine.  
You glanced back up at the girl named Shiharu and saw her smiling cheerfully at you.

„Did your mother cook this for you? It looks awesome!“ You tried to return the smile and 

shook your head ever so slightly. There was no reason to shake your head like some people did it with their hips in a disco. You frowned at the thought of that.  
„I did it myself“, you answered and separated your chopsticks to eat some of the rice and cheese smiling seductively at you. You felt a huge amount of affection for those tiny rice balls and cheese strings lying in your lunchbox, almost inviting you to go ahead and eat them.  
The girl with the burgundy locks watched you and her mouth corners curved up as she noticed you, eager to get your hands on the delicious food.

„You did it yourself? That is super amazing~“ , she praised and pointed at her box. „I always eat the same. I can’t really cook,you know.“  
‚That wasn’t hard to guess taking a glance at your lunchbox.‘ , you thought but kept quiet. There was no need to provoke her. Instead, you examined the two girls sitting close to you. Guessing by her looks and behavior,it was no wonder they were friends. They had a lot in common after all.  
Whether that was good or bad.

„I wish my father came home earlier so he could show me how to cook“ ,Shiharu sighed and hid her face by laying her head on her arms,resting on the table.

You lifted your gaze and looked at the girl that seemed pretty down about her cooking skills. Her last words made you wonder.  
You cleared your throat,rather because of uneasiness than of it being dry.  
„If I may ask“ , you said in a calm and quiet voice, trying to address the topic carefully.  
„What about your mother?“

Shiharu remained silent for a moment and didn’t raise her head to look at you. From the corner of your eye you could see her blonde friend looking at her with a worried expression,wondering if it was okay for her to talk about that.  
„Of course,It’s fine to not talk about this if it’s making you feel uncomfortable.“ , you said,knowing how unwell you felt talking about your family.

„No“, The redhead said and looked up. Even though she didn’t face you, at least she answered without facing the table like before. „It’s okay. You see,my mother left my dad 6 years ago because he cheated on her. At least that’s what she said.“

She straightened her back and continued to talk while looking outside the window next to your desk.  
„I don’t know if it’s true or if it isn’t. But then again,I don’t think I even want to know“ ,she paused and crossed her arms before her chest. If you looked more closely, Shiharu was a really pretty girl with her burgundy locks and light brown eyes. 

„I stayed with my father because of the money. Looking at it now though, maybe I should have chosen otherwise.“

She absentmindedly said those words and even though she said them in such a light voice, to you they felt really heavy.  
Between the three of you was dead silence, with no one feeling like it was alright for him to speak up and change the subject light-heartedly. It felt really awkward .

But luckily, The friend of the blonde girl that talked to you decided to end this by inviting you to eat with them in the next lunch break.  
„It‘s just me and Umi,so having someone else with us would really be fun“, she said and grinned. That expression suited her much better,you found.  
„Umi“ , you repeated the name of the blonde. „It means ocean. What a beautiful name“  
„Yeah,isn’t it?“ , Shiharu laughed and glanced at her friend that blushed at your praise. She stood in front of your desk with her hands on her hips and gave you an expectant look.

„So how about it, [ Name ] -San?“  
You put your chopsticks aside and paused for a moment before curving your mouth corners up to form a mischievous smirk.  
Instead of answering her question directly, you closed your eyes and leaned backwards,saying:

„It’s fine to address me by my first name only.“

 

 

 

 

You looked outside the window of the big silver train that took you to your hometown.  
When you got home from school today, you quickly changed into casual clothes and grabbed your baggage. Since the train left around an hour after you finished school, there was no time to lose.  
The scenery you could see from inside the train slowly began to blur and the sky turned from a bright blue to a more greyish tone. It’s going to rain,most likely.

You leaned backwards and let yourself fall into the soft and comfortable,fluffy seat...not really.

A desperate sigh escaped your lips as you felt the hard back grind against your spine.  
Damn it,that really hurt. In moments like this,you kind of wished you had more money to spend. Well,actually...

 

You looked around the cabin,searching for people to examine. When you were bored and had nothing to do during those long trips to Iwatobi,which was almost always, you looked around and thought about the different people traveling with you.  
Your [ Eyecolor ] eyes wandered around and clung onto a woman most likely in her forties,that wore a lot of different necklaces and rings that sparkled in the gentle sunlight.

Next to her was a boy,probably a few years younger than you. He was a bit more on the bigger side in terms of weight,which didn’t surprise you,noting the sugary chocolate bars in his left hand. In his right hand he held the newest model of a pretty expensive smartphone brand.

No,dude. Just no. You looked at him with mixed expressions and thought about how you would spend the money instead.  
You didn’t notice it,but over time your absentminded stare made the boy uncomfortable. He tugged on the glittery blouse of his mother and pointed at you,whispering something. 

Oh my...God. Your lips parted in embarrassment over the wary look on the woman‘s face. She still looked quite youthful despite her age,you noticed as your eyes met hers.  
Jesus, I‘m done for... They must be thinking I’m some sort of criminal waiting for a chance to rob them...

You frowned at your maybe a little bit too exaggerated thoughts and turned to look outside the window. 

Or rather,to avoid being looked in the face by the two passengers sitting across your seat. You didn’t need any more awkwardness now.  
Your [ Eyecolor] orbs moved as you watched the scenery passing by. While you were observing the other persons in the cabin, it had started to rain.

Big,round drops whipped boldly against the glass of the run-down train you sat in.They quickly ran down the old pane and United into small rivulets that streamed down the window.  
You liked the rain. Not so much when you were standing in it,getting soaking wet. But you found the sound of it was calming and the air smelled really good after.

‚I hope the air in Iwatobi is still as good after the rain as I imagined it‘ ,you thought and leaned against the glass.

That was meaningless however,hearing the monotone voice of the woman calling out the next train station a few moments after.  
You would soon arrive at the station of your hometown where your little sister would be waiting for you. 

‚Will dad be there too...?‘ , you wondered. It wouldn’t really matter though if he wasn’t since You would see him for dinner either way.

Your half-opened eyes peered over to the woman with her son. Looks like they decided to drop the matter from earlier and sleep instead. You tried to guess where they were traveling to,considering Iwatobi probably wasn’t their destination.

On the other hand,there wasn’t really a point in doing that,because you didn’t know the stations after yours anyway.

The lady called out again,telling all the passengers planning to get out on the next halt to prepare themselves for leaving. You grabbed your baggage and pulled it close to your seat,checking if you had everything together.  
When you got up and moved toward the door of the cabin,you heard two voices mumbling behind you. In reflex,you turned around to find out who was talking.  
Your eyes widened in surprise as you saw the woman that you stared at earlier speaking with her son. You Didn’t think that you would see them awake again.  
As you inched a little closer to listen to their talking, their voices got louder and you could slowly begin to understand what they were saying. 

 

„Mom,what is this Place we are visiting? It looks so plain here. Is this really it?“

„Luke,you know dad had to move to Japan because of his work. And in this town they have a school that is focused on swimming. It will definitely help you to practice as much as possible.“

„Huh? Which one? Do I know it?“

The two seemed to be from Great Britain,guessing by the language they were speaking in. Well,it could have been America or another English speaking country as well,but since you were little you often heard your mom speaking in English,so you were pretty good at differentiating between different accents.  
Your eyes were fixated on the boy,that said something about a school for swimming. 

Watersports. That caught your attention. What school could he mean? If you recalled correctly,there only were a few schools in Iwatobi and there was only one that was known for its swimming hall...

„You do. It’s Samezuka Acedemy.“ You could hear the woman sigh as she turned away to get her baggage. 

As you were eagerly eavesdropping, the train almost got to the station you were leaving at. You hurried to the exit again and stood up straight,thinking about what the boy said.  
Samezuka Acedemy. The big all-Boys boarding school with the large swimming hall. They had a lot of great swimmers and there was some sort of rivalry between the Iwatobi and the Samezuka High School‘s swim Club,if you remembered your sister‘s words correctly.

When you thought about that,you felt a little sad,leaving this beautiful town after Middle School to live in Tokyo with your mom. You would have enjoyed being part of that,but you you weren’t. Unfortunately. 

You sighed soundly,making a man next to you turn at you in surprise. How embarrassing... You quickly covered your mouth and lifted your gaze to look alright.  
A few moments later,the train stopped and the doors slowly pushed open to let the passengers leave.  
Your melancholy was blown away in a second as you saw your little sister waving at you with a fond expression,the one she mostly wore.

„Mikawa!“,you called out to her as you jumped over the small gap separating the gate and the train. Your sister‘s name meant „three rivers“ which fit very well,considering how she loved swimming. 

She ran at you,throwing her arms around you,showing her happiness. You two had a good bond, but because of the difficult situation,you didn’t get to see each other often. That’s why she was even happier when she did in fact see you.  
„Onee-Chan!“, she squealed and dug her face deep into your pullover. You smiled at her and caressed her head gently,noticing the excitement in her voice.  
In an attempt to look at the sky to see whether it was still raining,you looked up.  
„I‘m back,Mikawa“ ,you whispered.  
The sky was colored in a beautiful blue.

 

 

  
„Tachibana“ ,you said slowly as you carefully pronounced every syllable of the name on the door plate.  
You didn’t remember knowing anyone by that name, even though it seemed so familiar to you.  
‚Must be my imagination.‘ ,you thought and stood up straight again after bending down to read the name. Then you turned to your sister,who happily jumped from one leg to another. You frowned at her overjoyed behavior. Wasn’t this supposed to be a visit for handing over some borrowed things?

„...Suspicious“,you muttered just as loud so that Mikawa could barely hear it.

  
Pretending that she didn’t notice your doubting remark,the brunette averted her eyes to regard the one family-house in front of her. It was quite big,that was for sure,but she also lived in one that didn’t lose by much in terms of greatness. You,living in an expensive,yet rather small apartment in Tokyo, had all the more reason to envy them.

Since your sister probably wouldn’t respond to you anytime soon,you decided to ring the bell and wait for someone to come out.

The door opened with a quiet creak as a woman with dark green hair pushed down the door handle to see who was standing behind it.  
First,there was silence. You and the woman eyeballed each other,not knowing why you even met here. Then she glanced at your sister and a wide grin started to form on her pretty face.

„Mikawa-Chan“ ,she said and stepped aside,allowing you to enter the house.  
„Welcome.Ren and Ran are already waiting,so come in. Dinner will be ready soon“  
„Really? I will go to see Ran-Chan then! Thank you, Tachibana-San!“ ,your little sister exclaimed happily and ran into the house.  
What’s left was an awkward silence between you and the woman.  
Dinner? You didn’t hear anything about that...! Not to mention with a family you didn’t even know. Oh.My.God. Where was this going?

„Umm...Are you Mikawa‘s older sister? She told me about you!“  
The woman seemed to try hard to brighten the mood between the two of you. Since you both didn’t want her efforts go to waste and didn’t want the silence to last you decided to play along.

„Yes,I‘m [Lastname] [Name]. You are Tachibana-San? My sister said we would be handing over something she borrowed so I’m a little surprised to be honest...“  
You spoke calmly and clearly,trying to convey your words as unambiguous as possible. You set a high value on making a good impression at the first meeting.

...Or,at least not a bad one. You couldn’t stand embarrassing situations...even though they somehow kept happening to you.  
Upon hearing that, the woman widened her eyes in surprise and hesitated a little before answering.Seems like she was confused too.  
„Eh...no...You See,Mikawa-Chan is really good friends with our children,especially Ran. The two visit the same middle school since this year.“  
„Is that so...“, you whispered quietly,not sure what to think about your sister lying to you.

The woman leaned onto the doorframe and tilted her head.  
„Yeah. We invited her over for dinner tonight“  
You fell silent at first,and then nodded to show you were listening. Then you crossed your arms before your chest,dealing the woman a sideways glance.

,So...what about me?‘,you thought. Should you just,like,get lost or something? You figured it would be pretty sad eating at home alone while your sister was eating with her friends. Your dad had work to do too,so he wouldn’t come as well.  
Seeing you debating in your head,the green-haired woman could imagine what you were thinking and couldn’t help but smile.

„It’s alright,[Name]-San. You don’t have to worry about eating with us. You’re Mikawa-chan‘s sister,of course we will gladly welcome you“, she chuckled and made a waving gesture, signaling you it was alright to enter.

After bowing down politely and thanking her, you took off your shoes and entered the hallway.  
„Pardon the intrusion“,you muttered quietly with a slight blush on your cheeks. It felt nice to get to know people that were in touch with your sister. You felt included.

You walked inside and turned around,giving the woman a helpless look. She caught up on you and lifted her right hand to show you the direction you would be heading to.  
„The living room is over here. Please make yourself feel at home.“  
Your face brightened a little and you gave her a small smile,walking into the spacious room.  
There were a big couch and a TV,standing on an old,wooden commode. From the looks of it,the living room and the kitchen were connected to each other,just like in your apartment. You glanced around the room,noticing framed pictures hanging on the walls ,depicting their kids in various situations. How cute.

You felt a warm feeling grow around your chest,seeing this family living so happily together. Unconsciously,you walked closer to a photo that was positioned on a small cupboard next to the book shelves.

A group of four boys was shown on the old picture, and guessing by the date in the lower right corner,it was taken a little bit less than seven years ago. You investigated the boys a little bit more.

The four stood in front of a swimming pool and it looked like they had won a race. Maybe... a relay? You also swam and a relay needed four people,so this was the only possible solution. Your eyes narrowed,examining the four.

One had olive-ish brown hair and sparkling green eyes. He seemed quite tall for his age,at least in comparison to the other three. Next to him was a raven-haired boy with an emotionless expression on his face. He seemed pretty disinterested and was the only one turning away from the camera. Maybe he didn’t like taking photos?

Then there was a blonde guy with piercing magenta eyes,that looked really beautiful,you had to admit. He seemed very cheerful and quirky and a little bit younger than the others.  
The last one had maroon colored hair and eyes,accompanied by a mouth with sharp teeth that you found intimidating,yet funny at the same time. He looked interesting.

,I wonder who swims which style?‘ ,you thought and eyed them,trying to guess by looking.Which of course didn’t work.  
Or maybe it was a freestyle relay? That could also be. If it wasn’t, it must have been  
A medley relay. If you remembered correctly it consisted of Backstroke,Breaststroke,Butterfly and —

„Oh [ Name ] -San.“ You flinched as you heard a soft voice next to you. You didn’t notice it,but you must have been staring at the photo for a long time now. In the mean time, Tachibana-San walked to stand beside you,gazing at the picture in nostalgia.

You averted your eyes from the picture and looked at her instead,somehow demanding for her to explain what was shown on the photo.

You thought it was impolite to simply look at other people’s photos and scolded yourself in your head. It was none of your business after all.  
However,the boys on the picture somehow caught your attention.

You,having swam for quite some time when you were in elementary school, felt some sort of curiosity towards Them and their team. ,What was it like to swim in a team again?‘ , you wondered absentmindedly as you turned to the photo again.

The woman chuckled quietly and spoke up to you, answering your questions as if she had seen right through you.  
„They won a medley relay in sixth grade. The boy on the right is Makoto,our eldest son“,she explained and pointed at the tall boy with beautiful green eyes.  
Tachibana Makoto. Somehow this name seemed familiar to you...

You gasped aloud,causing the mother of the swimmer to look at you worriedly.

„So it’s the guys from Iwatobi Middle!“,you exclaimed and quickly covered your mouth,noticing how you raised your voice unintentionally.  
„I‘m sorry“ ,you breathed out,in such a quiet voice it was almost a whisper.  
The woman laughed and shook her head to avoid making you feel even more uncomfortable about your sudden reaction.

„Yes,that’s right. How do you know them?“, she asked and looked at you with an interested face.  
Thankful for the fact that she didn’t mind your exaggerated tone earlier,you smiled slightly and scratched your head,hoping that your blush would fade away.

„Well,I also went there . I really liked swimming,so I remembered cheering for them in their first year.“

Her eyes widened and she sat down on the couch,gesturing you to sit beside her. You nodded politely and followed her.  
„My,how unexpected. So you’re also in college? How old are you?“,she sighed surprisedly and turned to face you,expecting an answer.

After a few moments of thinking through,you slowly responded to her in your usual calm,yet soothing voice.

„No,I am in my last year of highschool. I cheered for them when I was still in elementary school and a member of the swimming club“, you replied in a hushed voice that almost faded to a whisper.  
You gasped quietly,noticing your words.  
Why did you say that? It’s gonna be awkward again.

The woman noticed your sheepish expression and figured it would be better to not ask why you weren’t swimming anymore. Seeing right through you,She gave you a weak smile and tried her best to brighten the mood again. The Tachibanas seemed really good at reading people.

„Is that so.“ 

Knowing that dead silence would follow,you forced yourself to quickly go on with the conversation,or else it was gonna be really awkward.

„I’m doing synchronized swimming now“,you said and tried your best to smile earnestly. „It’s really fun“

„Is that so?“ Mrs.Tachibana‘s face brightened up as she noticed you trying to overcome the awkward mood. She gladly played along.

„Makoto is in his first year in college now. He is aiming to be teaching people how to swim. But of course,in his free time he is still swimming with Haruka and the others,if they have the time“,she said softly,looking at her son on the picture.  
Noticing her mentioning another name,you looked at her with a curious expression. 

„Haruka?“, you asked and tilted your head. This was getting interesting.

„Yeah,it’s this boy here“ She showed you the raven haired boy next to Makoto.  
,Ah,it’s this one. The one without emotions‘, you thought while recognizing the boy you’ve observed earlier.  
Looking at him more closely,his eyes were really beautiful. It was the clear,calming blue of the ocean that attracted you.

You looked up as you heard Mrs.Tachibana‘s Voice continuing to talk.  
„He totally loves swimming and sometimes you feel like it’s all he cares about. He always has this cool attitude though so you rarely know what he really is thinking“,she chuckled and handed you the framed photo.

You stared at it again with obvious interest. Then,you formed a question you wanted to ask since earlier.  
„May I ask what style they are swimming?“

The woman‘s green eyes widened at your words and then narrowed as she smiled.  
Moving a little closer So she could look at the photo,she started to talk about the boys on the photo.

„My son Makoto is swimming backstroke. He has known Haruka since they were little and they share an exceptionally good bond“,she announced proudly and moved on to the blue eyed boy.

„Haruka is swimming freestyle. He always insists on not swimming anything else except free. That boy has lived alone during his entire time in highschool,since his mother and father were away for work. He often came over for dinner“

She chuckled as she remembered the times some years ago. It’s a shame how fast they‘ve grown up.  
Then she pointed at the cheerful blonde boy with the magenta colored eyes.

„This is Nagisa. He is a year younger than the others and was in the same swimming club as Haruka and Makoto. I believe he’s swimming breaststroke“, she said softly,eyeing her son and his friends on the picture of long gone times.

Then she raised her voice again to talk about the boy with the strange haircolor and sharp teeth. „His name is Rin. He transferred to their school in fifth or sixth grade,joining their swim club. For middle school he went to Australia though. Especially Haruka was really depressed about it. It seems they had some sort of special relationship“,she mumbled in wonder.

Australia...that was really far. It must have been hard to adjust yourself to the new language and morals.

„And the style he’s swimming... He’s swimming free as well, but his best is in...Ah,I don’t remember what it’s called...“, the woman whispered cluelessly.  
Judging by the styles mentioned earlier,there was only one other one left. And that would have to be...

„Butterfly“,you said simply, looking at her with an understanding expression. Butterfly was probably the least swam technique,going by how difficult it was and how much effort was needed.  
„Yeah!“,she exclaimed with a sparkle in her eyes. „That’s it! I think the name is really beautiful“

You smiled in agreement. From the name it was definitely the most beautiful and special style.

„It is colloquially shortened to fly sometimes. The kick used to swim is also called the dolphin kick,you see“,you added,showing your knowledge about swimming.

She giggled and leaned backwards,remaining silent for a moment. Then she tilted her head and looked at you with a questioning face.

„How old were you again?“

„Ah“,you responded in a high voice,realizing you didn’t tell her your age yet. Then you sat up straight,answering her question in your usual polite way of speaking to authorities.

„I‘m 16 right now. During November,I am going to turn 17.“  
The woman nodded and replied to you. While she was talking, you could make out the amused tone in her voice.

„Makoto‘s also turning 19 in November.“  
She fell silent,giving you a moment to think. Was that necessary though? Why...?

You looked at your legs,hugging them close to your chest.  
19,huh...2 years older than you,those guys.Well,you were used to being around older people,having skipped a grade. Since you adjusted your behavior to theirs,you were also easily mistaken for 18 or sometimes even 19.  
You had the strange feeling of her expecting you to say something.  
Was she teasing you?

„Um...“,you paused,thinking about what to reply. Then you found something that was probably acceptable to go with.

„When’s his birthday? Mine is on November 21st“, you asked,looking in her direction.  
She smiled at your concern and leaned further into the soft couch.  
„November 17th. Four days before yours“, she mentioned while looking at the ceiling. Then the beautiful woman straightened herself and whispered something just as loud as you could barely hear it.

„Guys like to go for younger girls.“ She shot you a meaningful look and smiled mischievously. She seemed like she was having fun teasing you!

You flushed at the sudden change of the subject and looked to the side as you managed to stammer an answer. As well as you could hide your discomfort,it just wouldn’t work as well with embarrassment. What a shame.

„What’s that supposed to mean...?“  
The woman snickered like a young teenage girl telling some dirty joke to her friends and it was strongly disturbing you.  
You weren’t good with these topics.  
Instead of answering your innocent question,she turned around and walked into the kitchen as she winked at you.

„Dinner will be ready soon“,she chuckled.  
What the... Were you being toyed with?  
Still sitting there with your cheeks flushed,you watched her walking into the kitchen while humming a melody of some song you didn’t know.

Regardless,you couldn’t help but feel happy about how nice they welcomed you. And about the things you got to know about her son and his friends.  
A warm feeling spread from around your chest.

I‘m glad I came to Iwatobi again.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so this is the first chapter. I’m sorry it didn’t really include anything super interesting,but I don’t know... I prefer if it’s progressing a little slower rather than fast ... it feels more realistic to me ^_^  
> Also, I don’t know if I will stick to the Haru x Reader only. Maybe I will throw in some reverse Harem, it wouldn’t be unexpected XD  
> Either way, Thank you for reading up until here guys and I hope I can update again soon! ^^


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